Football shoulder pad



p 4, 1956 E. MARTIN ETAL FOOTBALL SHOULDER PAD Filed Jan. ll, 1954 FIG.

W T m M E W V W VIRGIL W BEA VERS FIG. 4.

A TTORNIE Y United States Patent Ofiice 2,761,143 Patented Sept. 4, 1956 FOOTBALL SHOULDER PAD Irvin E. Martin, San Antonio, and Virgil W.

Fort Worth, Tex.

Beavers,

This invention relates to athletic equipment and has reference to shoulder pads worn by players for protection from body injury when playing the game of football.

An object of the invention is to provide an improved shoulder pad which not only gives added protection to the player wearing the same, but reduces likely injury to players on the opposing team.

Another object of the invention is to provide a football shoulder pad which makes the player wearing the same more effective when blocking or tackling an opponent.

Another object is to provide a football shoulder pad construction which will wear longer before requiring repairs.

A further object of the invention is to improve the players confidence when playing the game of football by reason of the added protection.

These and other objects will become apparent from the following description and accompanying drawing, wherem:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a football players shoulder pad embodying the features of the invention.

Figure 2 is a perspective view of a shock absorbing pad in accordance with the invention.

Figure 3 is a view similar to Figure 2, but showing the pad without its cover, and

Figure 4 is a transverse section of the pad illustrated in Figure 2 and showing the same attached to one of the shoulder portions of a shoulder pad, said shoulder portion being shown by means of dotted lines.

The football shoulder pad shown is primarily comprised of right and left arch members 11 and 12, a neck opening 13 between the upper center portions thereof, wing caps 14 and 15 attached to the outer upper edges of said arch members, and floppets 16 and 17 movably secured to said arch members by means of leather straps or hinges 18 and 19. The floppets 16 and 17 are positioned above the connections between wing caps 14 and 15 and their respective arches 11 and 12, and the attaching leather hinges 18 and 19 are secured to the arches by means of rivets 20.

The primary feature of the invention is directed to shock absorbing pads 21 positioned beneath the floppets 16 and 17 and secured to the arch members 11 and 12.

Each pad 21 is generally triangular and includes a straight side 22 which is secured to its respective arch member 11 and 12 by means of rivets 23. As shown in Figure 1, the straight side 22 of each pad is relatively near the neck opening 13. The apex 24 of each pad 21 extends out wardly over its adjacent Wing cap 14 and 15.

The inner construction of each pad 21 is of resilient material, such as sponge or foam rubber, and is preferably made of two layers 25 and 26, the upper layer 25 being shorter on each end of its straight side 22 so as to taper the thickness of the ends of the pads. As shown in Figure 3, a strip of reinforcing tape 27 is positioned transversely around the layers 25 and 26 of resilient material, and is cemented in place. The extending free ends 28 of the tape 27 are positioned beneath the leather hinges 18 and 19 and riveted in place, as shown in Figure l. The excess ends of the tape at the neck opening 13 are cut off.

A cover, preferably of upper and lower layers 29 and 30 of leather, encloses resilient material 25 and 26, and each cover layer has a reinforcing tape 31 cemented to its inner surface parallel with the straight side 22 of the pad 21.

The described position of the shock absorbing pads 21 raises the hinged floppets 16 and 17; thus, the resulting angular positions of the floppets relative to the tops of the arch members 11 and 12, provides more effective tackling and blocking since opponent is moved toward the tackler or blockers neck. Not only is the shock against the wearers shoulder reduced, but at the same time a snug and comfortable shoulder pad construction is provided.

The invention is not limited to the exemplary construction herein shown and described, but may be made in many ways within the scope of the appended claim.

What is claimed is:

A football shoulder pad comprising arch members adapted to fit over a players shoulders and including a neck opening therebetween, wing caps directly secured to said arch members and extending outwardly therefrom opposite said neck opening, floppets hingedly secured to said arch members near said neck opening and extending at least partially over said wing caps, and triangular resilient pads positioned between said arch members and said floppets, corresponding straight edges of said triangular resilient pads secured to said arch members at positions close to each side of the neck opening, said resilient pads being of substantially the same width as said floppets and extending substantially across the lower center surfaces thereof, said resilient pads being of sufficient thickness to raise said hinged floppets so as to position the latter at raised angles relative to the upper surfaces of the arch members.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,846,193 Glahe Feb. 23, 1932 1,862,442 Till June 7, 1932 2,603,786 Haines July 22, 1952 2,626,394 Davis Jan. 27, 1953 

